State Superintendent Ryan Walters’ recently announced that end-of-theyear state testing for math and English in grades three through eight may no longer be required. I’m not always on board with Walters’ ideas, plans, or conspiracies. In fact, more often than not, I find myself raising an eyebrow or both but on this one I’m leaning in support of tossing the One Test to rule them all into the fires of Mount Doom.
I have faced the fiery Balrog of standardized testing myself and I was not a fan and as a parent that feeling has not changed. However, before anyone starts sharpening their No. 2 pencils to write me an angry letter let me be clear — I’m not against testing. I see the value in benchmark testing throughout the year. We need to know where our students are, where they need to go, and what they may need help with. I personally believe that benchmark testing will do that much better than one test taken at the end of the year to determine students’ and districts’ future. I’ve never understood why so much of a school districts’ reputation — it’s accreditation, hinges on a single test, on a single day, at the very end of the school year. One trial, one judgement, one chapter does not tell a whole story.
Considering I barely remember what I had for breakfast (as a child and an adult) why do we expect kids to instantly recall everything they’ve learned over nine months of school and regurgitate it in a single sitting. Their little minds flooded with anxiety, stress, and pressure after being told over and over this one test is the big one, the one that will determine whether a school closes and/or whether they’ll have a successful future. Currently, we are simply measuring testtaking ability and not true learning. It’s a system that is built on a brittle foundation and bound to collapse under its own weight and our students, our children are going to be taken down with it if something doesn’t change.
I took my eighth grade state test after getting food poisoning — I went to school, fell asleep before I could even break the seal, and then abruptly woke up to puke before running out of the testing room — my test did not go well. If a child comes to school on an end-of-year test day after a sleepless night, filled with worry, and distracted by burdens at home what then? Their score still becomes their mark — etched in stone, regardless of circumstance. A bad day becomes the Ring they must bear alone.
I may have tested poorly but I’m smart enough to know that removing the One Test is not going to magically fix the challenges of evaluating student progress. I recognize more frequent benchmark assessments could eat into instructionaltimeandincreasestressin different ways. Teachers—our unsung heroes wielding whiteboards instead of swords—may be further burdened by filling their days with tallying, grading, and endless explaining. Shifting to multiple benchmarks or alternative assessments might give us a fuller picture, but it also adds to a long list of “other duties as assigned” that are demanded of teachers.
There’s also the risk of replacing one flawed system with another. Without thoughtful planning we could end up with inconsistent expectations, which would make it harder to identify where students—and schools—truly need help.
Still, even with the risks the current system focuses on a single moment in time when education should instead focus on growth. Benchmarks can track progress. Portfolios can showcase real skills. Classroom performance, teacher evaluations, and ongoing assessments can give a far more accurate picture of student learning and teacher effectiveness than a once-a-year gauntlet.
I am far from pledging loyalty to every decree from the state superintendent’s office this particular initiative is one I can stand behind. I believe it could lead us to a fairer, wiser, and more human way to understand and better student learning. Because kids deserve better than a system that treats their education like One Test rules them all.